Zhaotong sits at Yunnan's border with Sichuan and Guizhou — historically the southern terminus of the
五尺道 'five-foot road' built under Qin Shi Huang to link Sichuan with the southwest frontier. Today it is the gateway for Yunnan's Zhaotong apples and one of the origin points of the Tang-era
乌蒙山 Yi uprising stories.
